Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1887-05-07
m o 8 s g r o W n
boulder, called
eager, barking dog


the harvest. The squirrels
barked and disappeared for few min
utes; then seeing that was not danger
Gus they resumed work. They worked
in families, two old and from three to
five young squirrels in tree. They ran
quickly to the end of bough where
there were clusters of pine cones, and
with one nip of their sharp teeth severed
the supporting stem, and before the cone
had struck the earth another would be
falling. A family would cut the cones
off tree in ten minutes. There was no
hesitation, no considering how the work
could be more easily done, but all worked
steadily and rapidly.
If one of the frolicsome children loafed
or showed inclination to cock his tail and
bark sweet nothings at maiden in gray
who worked in an adjoining harvest
field, his father promptly corrected him,
and with his teeth impressed sharply on
him the truth that harvest time must not
be wasted in flirting with tricky maidens.
The tree stripped of cones, the family
descended and greatly excited my dog.
She turned her dark eyes inquiringly on
me, as if to ask "Can't l chase them, just
once?" and when l sternly whispered,
"Lie still, you huzzy W in reply, she sighed
heavily and lay her head on her paws and
looked at the squirrels longingly. On
the ground, the old squirrels, easily dis
tinguishable by their superior size, ran
quickly around, apparently searching for
lost articles. They would stop and care
fully inspect bank of pine needles lying
under a rock, or examine the tiny mound
of leaves and soft mound from the sum-
nit of which a deciduous bush grew.
In few minutes one of the little
animals would find place that suited.
Then it would squat on its launches
and bark to attract its mate, who would
run to it. Together they would dig a
hole in the bank of needles or soft
mound, and then all hands would gather
cones to fill it. When it was full the old
squirrels would cover it with pine nee
dies or mold, and smooth the surface
with many strokes of their paws. When
every cone they had cut had been care
fully stored away in these magazines, the
family would run at the top of their speed
to another tree and climbing up 1t cut off
more food. They worked for about an
hour, then knocked off, one by one, until
the sound caused by falling cones ceased.
Then all talked and Dragged about the
amount of work they had done.
In one tree large squirrel barked his
contempt of the whole squirrel kind and
defed every squirrel in the Sierra Madre
to compete with him in harvesting. He
was exceedingly offensive. / half made
up my mind to shoot him before left,
but he finally exasperated the other
squirrels and several jumped from their
trees into the one he sat In and attacked
the boaster. He fought bravely, but was
driven out of the tree and chased from
the grove. But heard him away off in
the woods barking anew his contempt.
The other squirrels had frolic, playfully
CHASING one another up ana down the
trees and along the limbs, barking and
chatting delightedly the while. The
pretty things were very human.
These magazines contain the supply of
winters food for the squirrels. The
cones are buried about three inches deep.
opened several of the magazines to see
how many cones they contained. found
that they were packed in regular order
in circles on their sides, butts out, and
two or three tiers deep. The cones in
he magazines which l opened numbered
from seventy to one hundred and twenty
three. / knew that there would be six
feet of packed snow above these store
houses before the following spring, and,
As would be in the highlands before the
snow melted, decided to mark three of
he magazines, SO that / could find them
20 see If the squirrels were able to re-